Pizza Hut China learned a hard lesson about bad puns when an online ad for the chain's shrimp balls sparked outrage around the country. The Chinese words for "shrimp" and "blind" are pronounced the same, leading to a bit of wordplay as one of the ad's characters asks, "Do you know why these balls are rolling around in confusion? Because they're BLIND balls." As blind people staged protests at Pizza Huts in several Chinese cities, the company issued an online apology, sparking further controversy: As critics pointed out, blind people couldn't read the apology on the Internet.

Read more and watch video at PMQ.com.

Liven Up Soda Sales
Just as wine and beer drinkers enjoy choosing the perfect beverage to go with their meal, those who don't imbibe also like variety in their nonalcoholic drink choices – and the number of specialty sodas to choose from grows every day. Customers will gladly pay a premium for the novelty of a specialty soda that they can only get from you. Are you offering them any?

– Liz Barrett, PMQ editor at large
Read more at The Pizza Insider.

This Week In Pizza

Today on This Week In Pizza: the world’s five largest pizzas; Domino’s pizza chopper; and Pizza Hut China gets blindsided

Click here to watch video.

The Five Largest Pizzas in the World

They don’t call it the Giant Sicilian for nothing. This specialty pie, from Big Mama’s and Papa’s Pizzeria in Los Angeles, spans four-and-a-half square feet and can serve up to 70 people. It tops Maxim Magazine’s (and the Guinness Book of World Records’) list of the five largest commercially available pizzas in the world. The second-place spot belongs to Il Colosseo in Sydney, Australia, home of the Colossus, a 58-pound meat-and-cheese monstrosity. Other contenders include a 60-inch, $350 pie at the Pizza Machine in Gallatin, Tennessee; the Big Lou Super 42 at Big Lou’s Pizza in San Antonio, Texas; and a 65-inch pizza at El Buono in Quezon City, Philippines, that can serve up to 150 people.

Read more at PMQ.com.

Love In a Cup

If you like fries dribbled with cheese curd and gravy, you’ll love the latest French-Canadian specialty: a pizzaghetti slushie. Available exclusively in Couche-Tard convenience stores, the drink has been described by its makers as “love in a cup.”

Read more and watch video at Pizza Without Borders.

Pizza Sparks Nirvana ‘Reunion’ in Chicago

Most of their fans weren’t there to see it, but Nirvana had a reunion of sorts last week (minus Kurt Cobain, natch), and it was, of course, pizza that brought them back together. As The Huffington Post reports, bandmates Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear (who toured with the band as a second guitarist) were spotted hanging out at Piece Pizzeria & Brewery in Chicago, along with Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen and singer-songwriter Steve Albini (who produced Nirvana’s final album, “In Utero”). Bill Jacobs, owner of Piece, wasted no time in getting a photo of himself with the rockers in front of his pizzeria. Smells like … great publicity to us!

Read more at PMQ.com.

The Power of the Stars

Most people say they don’t believe in astrology, yet the daily horoscope remains one of the most popular features in any newspaper. Cash in on the interest by creating a direct-mail piece that reads like a horoscope and offers limited-time-only coupons or other deals. Get creative and make pizza-related predictions for each “house” of the Zodiac. For example: “Cancer – A relative’s visit will be longer than expected. Treat yourself to pizza and a beer. You deserve it.” Or “Leo – That ache in your belly can only be satisfied with meat. Lots of it. Order a meat-lovers pie today!”
Source: Tom Feltenstein, “501 Killer Marketing Tactics to Increase Sales, Maximize Profits and Stomp Your Competition”